Tickets for reopening day at Shanghai Disney Resort sell out; video shows visitors what to expect

Jayme Deerwester USA TODAY

Monday

May 11, 2020 at 10:25 AM

That was fast: Tickets for Monday's reopening of China's Shanghai Disney Resort have already sold out.

Those tickets were gone by Friday though there were passes available for Tuesday as of Saturday night, according to the park's website.

Though the Shanghai park can accommodate 80,000 guests, the Chinese government is restricting admission to 30% — or 24,000 guests per day — during the initial reopening phase. But Disney CEO Bob Chapek says even that number is a ways off.

"We are going to open up far below that to have our training wheels on," he said during the company's earnings call on Tuesday. In a few weeks, he said the park will ramp up to the new limit."

Chapek added, "We will take a phased approach with limits on attendance using an advanced reservation and entry system, controlled guest density using social distancing and strict, government-required health and prevention procedures," he said. "These include the use of masks, temperature screenings and other contact tracing and early detection systems."

On Friday, Shanghai Disney Resort published a video that walks Chinese visitors through what they can expect when the park reopens. Among the takeaways: get ready to have your temperature taken and don't hug Mickey Mouse.

Disney's Shanghai park to reopen Monday with precautions: What about US parks?

The video, narrated in Standard Chinese with English subtitles, warns day visitors that they'll need to purchase a ticket online for a specific date in advance. Annual pass holders must also reserve a date ahead of time. Customers will need to bring their reservation and QR code with them when they visit, along with a valid government ID. (Digital or printed copies will not be accepted.)

Guests must wear face masks for the duration of their visit, except when dining.

Upon arrival, their first stop will be a health screening checkpoint where they'll show their reservations to employees and have their temperatures checked. Admission will be denied to anyone whose temperature is over 99.3℉ or 37.3℃. Inside the health-screening tent, there will be instructions and markings on the ground indicating where to stand so that social distancing can be maintained.

Assuming guests pass the health screening, they'll stand on floor markings placed six feet apart in the queue for a security screening, where they'll once again show their reservations. Their bags will be checked and they'll pass through a metal detector. They'll also encounter socially distanced markings on the ground as they approach the ticket turnstiles, where they'll show their tickets and IDs, which must match the name used to book each ticket.

"As you enter the park, the vast majority of attractions, rides, shows and shopping and dining locations will be open but at controlled capacity," the video cautions.

Ride queues will also have social-distancing markers and when it comes time to board the ride, the park asks that guests put empty seats or rows between them and the groups before and after them. Rides with small cars will only allow one group to sit together.

Disney also asks that guests use hand sanitizer provided at the exit point for each ride.

Interactions with Disney characters, a popular experience for children visiting the park, will be temporarily off-limits, the video warns. However, characters will be available for photos at a distance.

When dining, visitors are asked not to sit at tables with cards, which are meant to be left empty so that social distancing can be maintained.

"While in stores, please only touch merchandise you intend to purchase," the narrator says, "and we recommend using contactless payment options."

When it's time to leave, the park will provide receptacles for mask disposal.

During the earnings call, the company indicated that it hopes to use the information gained during the Shanghai reopening as a blueprint for how to safely reopen its parks elsewhere in Asia, Europe and the two U.S. resorts, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

The American facilities have been closed since mid-March and the company has no reopening date in mind yet. But on Tuesday, Disney's chief medical advisor, Dr. Pamela Hymel, said that the company is considering some of the same tactics when the U.S. parks eventually reopen.

She outlined some of the tactics being explored for Walt Disney World and Disneyland, including a phased reopening that calls for opening retail and dining locations before the parks themselves, as Shanghai has done. It reopened its stores and restaurants in March after the infection rate began to abate in China.

To that end, the company announced Thursday that Disney Springs, the retail and dining complex near Walt Disney World will reopen May 20.

"Disney Springs will begin to reopen in a way that incorporates enhanced safety measures, including increased cleaning procedures, the use of appropriate face coverings by both cast members and guests, limited-contact guest services and additional safety training for cast members," Disney Springs vice president Matt Simon wrote in a blog post on the Disney park site.

Need a dose of Disney magic? Disney Springs plans May 20 reopening

Contributing: Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

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